With a strong impact on many industries, ChatGPT was launched on November 30, 2022, notes artificial intelligence expert Hassan Taher. But hot all of these impacts are good, with concerns over plagiarism, job security, and unintended consequences topping the list.
Given the rapid advancements that are taking place in the world of artificial intelligence and digital transformation, it’s understandable that many individuals are worried about the impact that ChatGPT and similar AI engines can have on our world.
Hassan Taher’s Take on the First Year with ChatGPT
Though AI has been around in a range of iterations for many years, ChatGPT has created a media sensation, shaping and shifting public perception of interactive AI. More basic AI forms, such as Alexa, Siri, and Okay Google were all used to handle basic questions and tasks, such as what the weather was going to be like the next day or to order more detergent pods for the washing machine or dishwasher. However, ChatGPT has brought a new level of complexity and nuance to the interaction between human and machine, creating conversations, generating recipes, or otherwise interacting on a higher level than had previously been possible.
In the long year between the introduction of ChatGPT and its first birthday, Hassan Taher has seen many additional AI advancements that sometimes seem to be taking over our world. The AI Midjourney is an art generator that has undertaken significant upgrades, while Stable Diffusion creates photo-like images using text prompts. Because these tools are continuing to move artificial intelligence closer to everyday life, excitement and concern are both being brought about. What kind of impact will this have on everyday life? People often think that the advent of AI means that we’re headed towards a mechanized apocalypse, not the first time this possibility has been considered in history.
But why are people concerned? Because of change. In the first revolution, peasants would fling their wooden clogs into the machinery out of fear that it would take their jobs. Their shoes, known as sabots, give us the root of today’s saboteur. Hassan Taher, with his expertise in AI and its possibilities, takes a look back to the second Industrial Revolution, the addition of electricity to industry and daily life, through the lens of modern media’s Downton Abbey. As electricity is introduced to the estate home, members of the household react to it differently, from a blasé acceptance to concerns by the dowager countess who refuses to have electricity in the dowager house, for fear of the unknown. “I couldn’t have electricity in the house,” she remarks in the first season. “I wouldn’t sleep a wink. All those vapors seeping about.”
Though electricity was a big concern of dowager duchess Violet at the turn of the last century, it’s nothing we especially worry about in the modern era. In today’s world, electricity is the new normal, used for everyday activities, and by comparison, a power outage often renders us into a similar level of panic as Violet’s concern over vapors. What would we do without electricity in our homes, Hassan Taher wonders, we wouldn’t sleep a wink if we couldn’t count on our smartphones to wake us up. They might run out of power, and then how would we know what’s going on in the neighborhood and in the world? It’s this same level of panic that is causing many individuals to look towards AI with concern, over fear of the unknown.
As AI becomes more familiar, it becomes more normal and acceptable. Many homes now have an Alexa, Siri, or Google assistant to help with determining when to order more household supplies, what to wear for the day, or to get some help with homework questions. Much as Violet from Downton Abbey ponders about how electricity and telephones make her feel like she’s living in an H.G. Wells novel, Hassan Taher recognizes the fears people have, “from potential misuse in academic settings to dystopian scenarios akin to a Terminator-style apocalypse.” This type of science-fiction scenario may seem far from our smartphone-using, Alexa-browsing reality, but some examples do exist, such as the instance of a Tesla car not recognizing a fire truck and slamming into it at high speed.
Fortunately, much like the turn from 1899 to 1900 and the advent of electricity, regulatory responses have been expected and are now taking place to create appropriate standards that help the industry at large reach a consensus on reach, safety protocols, and limitations of the AI technology. Hassan Taher continues, “An executive order signed by President Joe Biden in October 2023 mandates companies developing advanced AI systems to conduct safety tests against hackers and share results with the government before product launches.” This level of diligence may help us, as a society, avoid potential pitfalls that as of yet are unseen due to failure of imagination or unforeseen complications.
This type of action ensures that AI either cannot be used for harm or that its use in this fashion can be limited, avoiding potential injury. It’s a step that has been expected by industry experts such as Hassan Taher who mentions, “This reflects a growing awareness of the need for existing laws to be enforced in the context of rapidly evolving technology.” He also sees intellectual property laws as an area that must be explored. As one example, artists and writers are concerned about AI infringing upon their work while raising questions about who actually has the right of ownership to AI-generated pieces: the original creator, the company who owns the AI engine, or the person who has generated the request.
However, those individuals also recognize that AI can be a valuable tool, requiring adaptation and evolution to the changing technologies. Artists and photographers take advantage of AI tools to produce and edit pieces, while writers use grammar tools to get beyond the usual spellcheck errors that are common to the written word these days. As the technology continues to advance, we will see further levels of integration into everyday life, while its evolution will depend on very human inputs and the boundaries of human ingenuity.
For this reason, experts advise that concerns over sentience or autonomy are still a matter of science fiction and significant problems from the technology are some distance off. However, the fast pace of advancement will still have a dynamic, transformative impact on human life on a daily basis. The impact of AI engines like ChatGPT will be major, Hassan Taher thinks, as he considers the rapid pace of advancement the technology has seen in 2023. “The past year has not only showcased the potential and versatility of AI but also highlighted the complexities and ethical considerations it brings.”
He continues, contemplating the role that AI will have in the future, “As we move forward, it’s crucial to continue examining the implications of AI’s integration into various aspects of life, ensuring a balance between innovation and responsible development.” This level of expertise and knowledge ensures that our future is in careful, considerate hands who understand the full implications of the issues at hand.